Police in Kansas kill innocent man after prank emergency call

Los Angeles police have arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of making the swatting call that ended with a Wichita man being killed by police.

Barriss was arrested Friday in South Los Angeles on suspicion of making the prank call to police in Kansas.

Barriss is the same man who allegedly called in a bomb threat to KABC-TV in 2015, which led to an evacuation of the Los Angeles television station, according to the Glendale Police Department in Los Angeles County.

The deadly prank began Thursday when a 911 operator in Wichita, Kan., received a call from a man who claimed he had shot his father and was now holding the rest of his family hostage.

Police did not identify the Wichita man killed in the incident on Thursday, but his mother identified him as 28-year-old Andrew Finch in an interview with the Wichita Eagle.

Swatting is reporting a fake crime to police with the intent of getting police SWAT teams to respond to the target home.

"That was the information we were working off of", said Deputy Wichita Police Chief Troy Livingston, explaining that officers went to the house ready for a hostage situation and they "got into position".

A police officer opened fire, shooting once, after the man quickly raised his hands and appeared to point a weapon at the officers, Livingston said. He also says he's poured gasoline all over the house and may burn it down, to which the 911 operator responds, "We don't need that". Livingston didn't mention discuss the online game but said investigators were tracking online leads.

The FBI estimates that roughly 400 cases of swatting occur annually, with some using caller ID spoofing to disguise their number.

KWCH reports that Livingston said officers gave Finch several verbal commands to put his hands up. Finch, who was unarmed, died a few minutes later at a hospital. He raised them again, and then lowered them for a second time, Livingston said. Fearful that Finch was going for a firearm, an officer discharged one round, killing the father of two, said Livingston.

"He doesn't play video games", Finch said.

Wichita Police Department bodycam image of the officer-involved shooting Thursday. Trey Forgety of the National Emergency Number Association told NPR in 2013 that 911 operators all over the country face 600,000 calls a day, making spotting a fake one hard.

"The irresponsible actions of a prankster put people and lives at risk".

"Due to actions of a prankster, we have an innocent victim".

The hoax call was made after a dispute over a wager in a game of Call of Duty, according to Dexerto, an online news service focused on gaming. "That cop murdered my son over a false report in the first place".

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